As part of AdNews' upcoming New Zealand issue, we go across the ditch to talk to some of the best talent from the region.
Today, we speak with Saatchi & Saatchi chief creative officer Toby Talbot who joined the agency almost 18 months ago.
Tablot has worked at both Australia and New Zealand agencies, holding roles at TBWA Auckland, DDB Sydney and Assignment Group.
He has won numerous local and international awards including Campaign Asia’s Creative of the Year for Australia and New Zealand. He was also the creative mind for one of the most highly awarded mobile campaigns, #comeonin for Sydney Opera House.
Here, Talbot reveals why he returned to New Zealand, the differences between the two markets and how he's progressing at Saatchi & Saatchi.
You've worked in both Australia and NZ. What do you view as the biggest differences?
First I want to say that I believe both markets are outstanding compared to many others around the world. But when I put the lens on certain aspects of the business there are some quite big differences.
Marketing departments for instance. For one thing, you actually have marketing departments in Australia. It’s generally a small team for even relatively big businesses in New Zealand. The upside of that is you don’t have multiple stakeholders here and endless layers of approval. Here, marketers seem to go with their gut more because I guess they can. And with very little pre-testing, the onus is on a shared responsibility to get the idea right between agency and client up front as opposed to death by a thousand opinions. A typical criticism I heard of New Zealand from clients and agencies alike in Sydney was that New Zealand is an ‘insignificant market’. I recall New Zealand being referred to as ‘just another state of Australia’ by one client. And yes, scale-wise, Australia is far bigger. But that cookie cutter approach to consumers demonstrates for me the biggest failing I found in some marketers in Australia. Not all I might add. I worked with some extraordinary gifted marketing people, some of whom I count as friends.
What’s the biggest difference between Australia and NZ agencies?
Not a lot really. I tired of the hype around certain agencies that seemed to be the darlings of the trade press and yet did very little work that I’d ever describe as world class. There’s a lot more media around marketing and advertising in Australia. A lot more gossip, rumours and bitchiness. A lot more agencies too. Bottom line, there is great creative coming out from both markets. That for me is the acid test.
What's the biggest difference between the NZ and Australian creative output? How does NZ compare?
I think in recent years, there’s been a great resurgence in Australia of work that eclipsed everything in Cannes. Dumb Ways to Die. Meet Graham. But I look at agencies like Colenso, DDB and more recently Y&R with McWhopper and though there are fewer agencies here, the hit rate is outstanding. My goal is to get Saatchi & Saatchi back up there to that level. It might take a bit of time because the bar is so high in New Zealand. But that high bar forces your standards to be high too. There’s no room for average in our market. Average doesn’t survive.
You've been at Saatchi's for nearly 18 months now. How's it been going?
Well it feels more like three months. It’s flown by. It’s been great. Paul and I know each other so well, we didn’t have to go through that awkward ‘getting to know you’ stage. It’s the same with David MacIndoe, our Head of Strategy. This is the third agency he and I have worked together. I was able to hit the ground running. We have a strong leadership team, an inclusive culture and clever people in all parts of the business. I like to think Paul and I have engendered a high level of trust with our clients and that means we are starting to make really interesting work. We are busy at new business. We are busy making stuff and we have high targets to aim for in 2019. It’s a transitionary time for the Saatchi & Saatchi brand. Our future is in our own hands. It’s exciting.
What's one goal you'd like to achieve at Saatchis?
Saatchi & Saatchi is part of the culture of New Zealand. It’s a unique brand like that. The legacy of great Saatchi advertising is huge here. Not just within the industry, but the public too. I’m proud to say I work at Saatchi. We are truly ubiquitous. My goal is to do the kind of work that future proofs that brand. Though I respect our illustrious past, it’s time to look forward. We have a network that can now act like a platform thanks to Marcel. We have the ‘power of one’ which allows us to tap into amazing resource across the Tasman daily so in a funny kind of way, the age-old comparison between both countries is becoming less relevant to us. We are very fluid. And with Mike Rebelo now running Publicis Communications, it feels like an exciting time for us.
What made you venture out to DDB Sydney from NZ?
The grass is always greener on the other side I guess. I had a few job offers in Australia. I’d returned from a year in the UK, felt a bit stuck in the job I was in, and that London experience opened me up to the idea of working in a bigger market. DDB Sydney was already familiar to me so I knew what I was getting into. And I guess I had seen creative leaders I respect deeply from New Zealand struggle a little over the ditch. I wanted to do well. And although it was only two years, I think I did alright. I left the agency in better shape than I found it, creatively and just as importantly, culturally.
What made you return to NZ?
My family largely remained in New Zealand during those two years. Being a trans-Tasman commuter was no fun at all. Try taking the 7am flight to Sydney on a Monday and a 6.50pm flight to Auckland every Friday. Fine for a few weeks. But not, as I found out, for a few years.
If you like this, you'll love our upcoming issue in the October Magazine which zones in on the New Zealand market. Subcribe here to get it hot off the press.
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